TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, 台積電) on Monday (Sept. 23) dismissed reports about potential plans to build a new chip factory in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alongside Samsung.
As the AI wave sweeps across the globe, TSMC expressed openness to constructive discussions that promote semiconductor industry development.
The company also clarified that it currently has no specific plans for new overseas investments, and emphasized its focus on existing global projects, countering recent media speculation.
The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that TSMC and Samsung were considering a project in the UAE, which could scale up to NT$3.2 trillion. The report also mentioned that the UAE had invited TSMC to invest in the factory, offering higher subsidies than any other country and proposing a dedicated seawater desalination plant.
TSMC has ongoing projects in U.S., Japan, and Germany. The Arizona plant is set to begin mass production of 4-nanometer chips in the first half of 2025. The first wafer fab in Kumamoto, Japan, will start producing 12nm, 16nm, 22nm, and 28nm chips in the fourth quarter of 2024. The Dresden, Germany, plant is scheduled to commence mass production in 2027.